Staff report…

Washington, D.C. – United States Senators are calling on President Donald Trump to make good on his promise to make assistance payments to farmers harmed by his Trade War with China and retaliatory tariffs on soybeans and other crops.

In a letter written to the president just obtained by the New American Journal, U.S. Senators Doug Jones of Alabama and John Hoeven, a Republican from North Dakota, urge President Trump to keep his promise. The first round of Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments was announced on August 27, 2018. The second round was anticipated on Dec. 3, but has not been made publicly available, the Senators say.

“We believe that these payments are necessary in the hopes that the majority of farmers are able to break even this year,” Senator Jones said. “While the latest round of soybean purchases by China has received a positive response and is appreciated, the status of the current or future sales remains to be seen. We ask that you proceed with the second round of MFP payments and make the announcement before the end of the year.”

The first round of assistance included payments to producers of soybeans, sorghum, corn, wheat, cotton, dairy, and hogs based on the size of this year’s harvest. Since the start of China’s unfair retaliation, soybean sales and prices in particular have been hit hard. According to the Farm Bureau, it is estimated that soybean exports to China are down 97 percent and that prices per bushel have dropped by two dollars.

Because of these challenges, some soybean producers have opted not to harvest or sell their crop, choosing instead to leave it stored or, in some cases, in their fields to rot.

Full text of the letter is available below and here.

December 14, 2018

President Donald J. Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing on behalf of our farmers, producers, and communities that have been harmed by the retaliatory tariffs imposed by China. Our farmers rely in large part on China for their commodities, and they have worked hard over decades to build these markets which are now unfairly being targeted by the Chinese government.

Farmers have been waiting for the second round of Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments to be announced. It was recently reported that U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Steve Censky is working to assure your administration, including the Office of Management and Budget, that these payments are still needed for our agriculture producers. We applaud USDA’s work to ensure this commitment to farmers and producers is met. 

As you well know, the passage of a new Farm Bill gives assurance to farmers that safety-net policies, which are critical to continuing farm operations, will be implemented.  The delivery of a second round of promised trade mitigation payments is also paramount to alleviate damages caused by China’s unfair trading practices and retaliatory tariffs.

We believe that these payments are necessary in the hopes that the majority of farmers are able to break even this year. While the latest round of soybean purchases by China has received a positive response and is appreciated, the status of the current or future sales remains to be seen.

We ask that you proceed with the second round of MFP payments and make the announcement before the end of the year. The recent passage of a long-term farm bill, coupled with the expected second half of agriculture mitigation payments, will go a long way toward ensuring our farmers and ranchers can continue to produce the highest quality, lowest cost food supply in the world.

Sincerely,

Doug Jones

John Hoeven

United States Senators